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DREAM THEATER Drummer Mike Mangini Gearing Up For Live Debut – “Rehearsing With The Guys Was Unbelievably Amazing”

New DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini, who replaces Mike Portnoy, has issued the following update via Facebook regarding his upcoming live debut with the band on July 4th in Rome, Italy:

“Rehearsing with the guys was unbelievably amazing. It was really physically and mentally rewarding. The whole crew is the most professional group ever. I’m really getting into tweaking the parts to make a mix of the recorded parts and some moves of my own that I think are just plain fun. Hearing those guys right in my ear canals is one smile after another! Here we come…”

In a recent interview with BWBK, frontman James LaBrie commented on Mangini putting his own spin on the band’s Portnoy-played material. LaBrie admits it’s still a question mark, but chances that the fans will be disappointed are slim to none.

“Aside from the auditions, where we did three songs, I haven’t heard him do any of the old stuff,” LaBrie reveals. “He knows there are certain sections of various songs when he has to stick to the mold, and he knows when he can be himself. Mike Mangini is very intuitive and incredibly musical, and he’s made it clear that he’s going to be putting some of himself into the old songs, but when the sections or the pieces really call for him to stay on the MP train, he’ll do so. That’s admirable and that’s professional.”